Reply to this post | See parent post | Go Back

View Post [edit]

Poster:	Video-Cellar	Date:	January 07, 2011 06:49:26pm
Forum:	feature_films	Subject:	Re: What's all the hoopla?

"The Brother from Another Planet has been public domain since 1984"

I am sorry, but that is impossible. Under the 1976 act, any work released without a notice had a period of five years to remedy the ommission by either including a notice in subsequent editions or by registereing the work with the copyright office. The earliest "Brother From Another Planet" could have entered the public domain would have been the beginning of 1990. But as "Brother From Another Planet" was released by Key Video on an authorised video tape as early as 1986 which included a valid copyright notice, it never entered the public domain.

Attached is a screen cap of the copyright notice as it appeared in the original Key Video release. It is in the end credits and exactly the same as it appears in the restored version:

"COPYRIGHT © 1984 A TRAIN FILMS, INC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED"

This notice meets the requirements of 17 USC 401:

§401. Notice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies
(a)
General provisions. Whenever a work protected under this title is published in the United States or elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this section may be placed on publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
(b)
Form of notice. If a notice appears on the copies, it shall consist of the following three elements:

(1)
the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright", or the abbreviation "Copr."; and
(2)
the year of first publication of the work; in the case of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying text matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful articles; and
(3)
the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.

(c)
Position of notice. The notice shall be affixed to the copies in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright. The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, as examples, specific methods of affixation and positions of the notice on various types of works that will satisfy this requirement, but these specifications shall not be considered exhaustive.
(d)
Evidentiary weight of notice. If a notice of copyright in the form and position specified by this section appears on the published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages, except as provided in the last sentence of section 504(c)(2)

The notice alone proves that "Brother From Another Planet" (1984) is demonstrably copyright protected. All information to the contrary is incorrect.

This post was modified by Video-Cellar on 2011-01-08 02:49:26

Attachment: Brother_vhs_copyright_notice.jpg

Reply to this post

Reply [edit]

Poster:	Video-Cellar	Date:	January 07, 2011 07:06:22pm
Forum:	feature_films	Subject:	Re: What's all the hoopla?

I should also mention that, because of the inclusion of the notice, exactly as it appears in the restored edition, in the earliest published edition available to view, I do not believe that this film was originally released to theatres without the inclusion of a valid notice. Infact, I would go so far as to conclude that original cinema prints contained the same notice as appears in the Key Video and MGM DVD.

This post was modified by Video-Cellar on 2011-01-08 03:06:22